Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells Can Repair Heart Tissue

Filed in archive Stem Cells on May 29, 2009

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Using an animal model, researchers have shown that injecting adult bone marrow stem cells into skeletal muscle can repair cardiac tissue and thus reverse damages due to heart failure by doubling myocytes, or heart cells, and reducing cardiac tissue injury by 60 percent.

"Injecting MSCs or factors released by MSCs improved ventricular function, promoted myocardial regeneration, lessened apoptosis (cell death) and fibrotic remodeling, recruited bone marrow progenitor cells and induced myocardial expression of multiple growth factor genes," Lee said.

"These findings highlight the critical 'cross-talks' between the injected MSCs and host tissues, culminating in effective cardiac repair for the failing heart."

This study has been published in the American Journal of Physiology- Heart Circulation Physiology.

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